Hi all,
Thought I'd drop you a quick introduction before asking all those irritating questions everyone else already has (Note: this is a lie. The system strongly suggested I should do this. Practically bullied me into it in fact. I was just going to wade right in with the questions. Guess I'm rude like that).
I'm planning on making my first home brew with a couple of friends, starting next Monday. Been an ale lover for many a year, and although my two mates joining in are Kiwis, I like to think I've helped school them in what real beer tastes like. Been wanting to brew my own for a long time, but SWMBO refused, on the grounds that we live in a pokey little studio flat in London, and she doesn't like the smell of beer.
Well, all that changed when one of my idiot mates moves to a house WITH A SHED! His missus is happy for us to use it, but the brewing has to be kept well away from the house, until it is good to drink. She also does not want an extension cable run down the garden either, which is a problem. This brings me onto why I'm here: I have to a) learn how to brew beer and b) do so in a limited space with no power source and no heat and c) do so for as little money as possible. Because that makes it more fun.
My plan so far is that mate-with-shed will get hold of some batteries from work (truck mechanic) and we will run a wire from them into a water jacket around the fermenting bucket (or even a little water tray under it) which is being generously donated by my Dad, who hasn't brewed in it for around 20 years (Trust me, I plan on sanitising the heck out of it!). The wire should heat up, warm the water and hence the fermenting bucket. Assuming we don't set the whole thing on fire (highly probable) and burn down my mate's shed, do we think this will be warm enough? We measured the temperature in the shed today, and without any heat source it was around 16 degrees. Obviously it will be colder at night. Am I wasting my time with the water jacket? In summer it should get warm enough in there during the daytime, but will certainly dip below about 15 degrees at night, which I hear is a problem. Will this stop the fermentation, or just make it take longer? I know it will be difficult to regulate the temperature of the water jacket, but that shouldn't be that difficult if it only has to add a few degrees (make the wire shorter. Or longer, we haven't figured out which yet.)
I know we could spend as little as £20 to get a warming belt, but not only do they rely on a power socket, we all like the idea of this being as "home brew" (in electronics terms) as possible. Also, we can save our money until we get the brewing process down and buy proper kit at that stage. Then the sky's the limit.
Answers on a postcard fellas!
Thought I'd drop you a quick introduction before asking all those irritating questions everyone else already has (Note: this is a lie. The system strongly suggested I should do this. Practically bullied me into it in fact. I was just going to wade right in with the questions. Guess I'm rude like that).
I'm planning on making my first home brew with a couple of friends, starting next Monday. Been an ale lover for many a year, and although my two mates joining in are Kiwis, I like to think I've helped school them in what real beer tastes like. Been wanting to brew my own for a long time, but SWMBO refused, on the grounds that we live in a pokey little studio flat in London, and she doesn't like the smell of beer.
Well, all that changed when one of my idiot mates moves to a house WITH A SHED! His missus is happy for us to use it, but the brewing has to be kept well away from the house, until it is good to drink. She also does not want an extension cable run down the garden either, which is a problem. This brings me onto why I'm here: I have to a) learn how to brew beer and b) do so in a limited space with no power source and no heat and c) do so for as little money as possible. Because that makes it more fun.
My plan so far is that mate-with-shed will get hold of some batteries from work (truck mechanic) and we will run a wire from them into a water jacket around the fermenting bucket (or even a little water tray under it) which is being generously donated by my Dad, who hasn't brewed in it for around 20 years (Trust me, I plan on sanitising the heck out of it!). The wire should heat up, warm the water and hence the fermenting bucket. Assuming we don't set the whole thing on fire (highly probable) and burn down my mate's shed, do we think this will be warm enough? We measured the temperature in the shed today, and without any heat source it was around 16 degrees. Obviously it will be colder at night. Am I wasting my time with the water jacket? In summer it should get warm enough in there during the daytime, but will certainly dip below about 15 degrees at night, which I hear is a problem. Will this stop the fermentation, or just make it take longer? I know it will be difficult to regulate the temperature of the water jacket, but that shouldn't be that difficult if it only has to add a few degrees (make the wire shorter. Or longer, we haven't figured out which yet.)
I know we could spend as little as £20 to get a warming belt, but not only do they rely on a power socket, we all like the idea of this being as "home brew" (in electronics terms) as possible. Also, we can save our money until we get the brewing process down and buy proper kit at that stage. Then the sky's the limit.
Answers on a postcard fellas!
